Barracks Would Improve Under House Defense Bill

In the wake of recent concerns about the quality of military barracks, the House Armed Services Committee called for $650 million in the 2009 Defense Authorization Bill for their restoration. Most of the funding — $500 million — is earmarked for improvement of Army facilities. The Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps would each receive $50 million. The funding would be used to replace outdated and dilapidated facilities, as well as those built as "temporary" structures years ago but are still in use. The House panel also directed the Defense Department to submit a plan to replace all temporary facilities with permanent ones by Oct. 1, 2014.